A Simple Wager
by Broken Angel01
Summary: Because we all know Firion really was trying to hit on Lightning, or at least that's what the other warriors seem to think...


Disclaimer: Final Fantasy, Dissidia, and all Final Fantasy characters are the property of Square Enix. I own nothing, but I sure do have fun writing about these guys and gals!

**A/N: Well, where to start...So, this is my first try at a Dissidia fic, and as a long time fan of Final Fantasy, I adore these characters and have been looking forward to trying my hand at writing them. Now, this story can fit with canon and takes place in the twelfth cycle, so you won't be seeing Cloud, Terra, or Tidus, and Jecht will be a member of the warriors of harmony. This story takes place after the scenes with Firion attempting to get his rose back from Lightning and Laguna harping on Squall to be more sociable. And that's really about it. Hope you all enjoy it. Some day I may also do a Dissidia fic with those shady moogles, which will be a companion piece to my Kingdom Hearts fic entitled _Never Trust a Moogle._ That Dissidia fic would be like **_Never Trust a Moogle:_ **_Round Two._ *laughs* So, without further ado, enjoy the story and drop me a review to let me know if I have written a good story or if I have portrayed the characters to the best of my ability, or both, and of course that I have managed to do Tetsuya Nomura and the other creators of these characters proud.**

A Simple Wager

Vaan, wannabe sky pirate extraordinaire, though he didn't as of yet remember he wanted to be a sky pirate, was a curious sort of youth, carefree and easygoing, who often dreamed about the sky and the airships he _could _almost vaguely remember from his home world soaring through the clouds with the kind of ease and freedom he couldn't help but envy, but at the moment his curiosity was focused on something else entirely.

Something that for once didn't have anything to do with the freedom of the skies.

It was an early evening, the barest tint of orange and pink darkening the western horizon, and at the request of the man known only as the Warrior of Light to his companions, since he apparently could not remember his true name, Vaan and his comrades had decided to rest for the night to fill their empty stomachs and to get some sleep before moving on to their next destination, though where they were going and what they were doing was still debatable at this point in time.

It wasn't often that all fourteen of them traveled together, since they hadn't known each other all that long, but when they did they tried to make the most of the limited time they had to share with one another, taking comfort from being in the presence of their many allies and comrades, friendly faces in the darkness lighting their way towards an end to the conflict and keeping their hopes and dreams for the future alive inside their hearts.

On this particular evening, the group had decided to camp out on the Cornelia Plains, the luminous glow of Order's Sanctuary shining like a beacon in the distance, its ethereal radiance reminding Vaan that he wasn't alone. Cosmos was always watching over them, and even if she couldn't always be present, his comrades would continue to watch his back and he would do the same for them. To him, Sanctuary was a symbol of their unity and their shared dreams for the future. Though each of them dreamed of different things, their goal was the same, to prevent the spread of chaos and discord in hopes of returning to their home worlds and obtaining the elusive freedom they desired from an endless cycle of destruction and war.

Freedom.

It was Vaan's favorite word and the one thing he desired most of all. The freedom of the skies and the thrill of adventure, where hopes and dreams soared high upon the winds and the shadow of fear and despair remained somewhere far beneath him on the ground, too small and insignificant to tarnish his high spirits or his excitement for diving into the unknown to see what awaited him on the other side.

It wasn't that he didn't take their situation seriously, he did, but what was the point in worrying about the future when no amount of worrying was going to help them end the cycle of conflict? They all had their own ways of dealing with the binding chains of fear and despair. Staying upbeat and carefree was just Vaan's way of dealing with the enormous and severely daunting task they, as the warriors of harmony, were expected to carry out. Regardless of what Lightning and some of the others might think, he wasn't trying to make light of their situation, despite his carefree attitude. It was just his way of showing his resolve to fight.

As mentioned before, normally these were the kind of thoughts that would have been running through Vaan's head while gazing up at the pristine clouds drifting lazily in the distance, but because of two certain individuals who had volunteered to take up the first watch for any signs of Chaos' flunkies, his thoughts were focused on something that he didn't, as a general rule, pay all that much attention to, though the two warriors sitting at the edge of the campsite had tweaked his curiosity.

And since Vaan was a curious person by nature, he was intrigued by their sudden change in demeanor towards one another, and thus he was determined to find out what was going on between them.

Discreetly, of course, since he most definitely did _not_ want to be on the receiving end of Lightning's gunblade. He'd suffered enough threats from that woman already, thank you very much, and he wasn't about to endure another one.

"Fifty gil says he asks her out on a date," an amused voice suddenly whispered in Vaan's ear, startling the Dalmascan thief out of his wayward thoughts.

Vaan turned to look at the mimic warrior sprawled out next to him on the grass, his eyebrows raising in amusement, before once again focusing his attention on the two warriors standing watch over the campsite.

Firion and Lightning were sitting close together on the grass, their sharp gazes roaming the area for any signs of hostile movement, but more often than not their eyes would return to the reverent light of Sanctuary pulsing in the distance, its luminous glow casting a reflection on the calm waters surrounding its base. Firion was sitting with his legs stretched out in front of him, an arm draped over his raised thigh, and Lightning had her legs pulled up to her chest, her arms resting on her knees. They were talking softly to one another, Firion's long silver ponytail and Lightning's rosy-coloured tresses swaying gently in the wind, their capes rippling like flags caught in a brisk breeze and rustling softly every time the material brushed against the grass, and though they both had serious expressions on their faces, the atmosphere between them was comfortable, as if they shared a mutual understanding of one another that had not been there before when Cosmos had first summoned them. Even during those moments when they were both quiet, there was no tension in the air, and Vaan could tell they were enjoying each other's company, even if neither one of them would say so in words.

Vaan had to admit to himself, he was a bit confused. As far as he could remember, Firion and Lightning hadn't normally made a habit of interacting all that much with each other during their travels, but according to Cecil, ever since a few days ago, after an incident the paladin had mentioned vaguely about Firion wanting to have a word with Lightning, the two of them appeared to have grown closer to each other, which of course left room for a bit of speculation.

Hence, Bartz's obvious attempt to make himself a little bit of extra gil, at Firion's expense.

"Alright then, Bartz, I accept your offer, but let's up the odds a little. A hundred gil says he tries to kiss her."

Now, Vaan wasn't exactly all that experienced in the romance department, since being an orphan on the streets of Rabanastre didn't offer many dating opportunities, though of course he didn't remember he had been an orphan living on the streets of Rabanastre, but that is neither here nor there, and he didn't much dwell on romance in general, but since he knew the basics of how to go about chasing after the opposite sex, he figured it was worth a try to make a wager on a kiss, and he didn't intend to lose out to Bartz.

"You're on!" Bartz replied, making a fist and smiling at him.

"That's it?" Jecht snorted, squatting down next to Bartz, using his large sword for leverage to hold himself erect. "Five thousand gil says the kid asks for Light's hand in marriage."

At this, both Vaan and Bartz gaped at the Blitzball ace, the comical looks on their faces earning a raised eyebrow from Squall, who was sitting close by with Laguna. At first glance, Squall appeared to be inspecting his gunblade for any signs of damage, while at the same time trying unsuccessfully to ignore Laguna, who was chatting excessively in the stoic warrior's ear, but Vaan could tell Squall was actually listening to their conversation with mild interest, though he would rather stab or shoot himself with his own gunblade than ever admit it.

"S-seriously?" Bartz stammered, shaking his head in disbelief.

Vaan glanced at Firion again, a hand coming up to scratch at his dusty blond locks, and studying the silver-haired warrior he could kind of see what Jecht was talking about.

And quite frankly he thought Firion was in way over his head.

"Look at him," Jecht snorted, jerking his hand in Firion's general direction. "The kid obviously comes from a world that's all about honour and chivalry, like Cecil, Kain, and that Warrior of Light guy. They're all a bit on the old fashioned side, if you get my drift. Asking for a lady's hand in marriage would be the proper thing to do in their kind of world. Just see if I'm wrong. I give the kid a week before he caves. He's obviously head over heels for Light. Poor guy."

Poor guy indeed.

"I'll say," Zidane groaned, appearing suddenly out of nowhere from behind them and dropping down onto the grass between Bartz and Jecht, an arm flinging itself across his ribs. "I'd reconsider if I were him."

"What'd you do this time?" Jecht smirked.

"A little bit of flirting and the next thing I know I'm running for my life. Damn, that girl packs a good punch. I think she broke at least twenty of my ribs."

"Who?" Bartz asked, looking confused.

"Light, of course."

Vaan blinked at Zidane's earlier words, only now realizing what the Genome had said, and his lips turned up into a small smile. "Uh...Zidane, I'm pretty sure you don't _have_ twenty ribs."

"Considering how many pieces they're currently in, thanks to Light, I do now."

"Serves you right," Squall interrupted, completely unsympathetic. His expression never altered from its usual stoic mask, but Vaan could tell the gunblade wielding warrior was amused at Zidane's predicament. "Clearly you haven't learned your lesson from the time Tifa nearly took out your eyes with her fists for that comment about her chest."

Zidane merely waved the admonishment aside with a flick of his wrist, his merry blue eyes sparkling with laughter and mischief. "That was a minor setback. As for Light, a girl like her...she's the type who likes playing hard to get, and you know how much I like a challenge. A few more days to work my charm and she won't be able to resist me!"

"Whatever."

"Whatever? What do you mean 'whatever?' Like hell I'm gonna lose out to Firion, of all people! Er...no offence to Firion, but when it comes to the ladies, I'm an expert thief at stealing their hearts."

"..."

Zidane frowned at Squall's lack of a response, his long tail twitching in the breeze, forcing Bartz to bat the thing out of his eyes every time it swayed in his direction. "Gee thanks, Squall. You know, you could be a little bit more supportive."

"..."

"Forget you then!"

Zidane, much to Vaan's amusement, promptly turned his back on Squall, and dropping both a friendly arm and his energetic tail over Bartz, he gave his partner in crime and fellow treasure hunter a mischievous smile. "By the way, you still owe me a thousand gil for betting I wouldn't have the nerve to hit on our resident tough girl, the beautiful and dangerous Lightning."

"What? Aw man, I thought you'd forgotten all about that!"

"Not a chance. Like I'd ever forget a bet. Come on, cough it up, buddy. I won fair and square."

"But she ditched you to hang out with Firion!" Bartz protested, gesturing widely at the two warriors on watch.

"And the pain was so worth it."

"But-"

"Hey, you just said I had to approach her. You never said I had to be successful."

Vaan snorted at this, and even Squall very nearly cracked a smile, which was epic in itself.

"Fine," Bartz finally relented, digging around in his clothing for spare gil, "but next time I dare you to convince her to go out on a date with you before Firion gets to her first. Ten thousand gil says you won't be able to do it!"

"Oh, you are so on!"

At this point, Laguna had become sufficiently interested in their conversation to join in, and dragging a very reluctant Squall over with him, he shook his finger at Zidane and Bartz, a smile on his face. "Hey now, behave children. You know how much Uncle Laguna hates having to break up a fight."

Vaan motioned for Laguna to take a seat next to him, on the side Bartz wasn't already occupying, while Squall took the seat on Laguna's left, and smiling, he said, "You sure don't mind starting them with Light, though."

"Ah, is that what you think? It might not seem like it, but underneath that tough exterior of hers, Light's actually a pretty nice and sensitive young lady. Kind of like this one sitting next to me, except for the being a girl part."

Squall glared at the older man, not missing the fact that Laguna's comment had been directed at him, but Laguna cheerfully ignored the gunblader's heated gaze, his smile never faltering.

"Speaking of the lovely Lightning," Zidane interrupted, smirking at Bartz, "now that I've got some gil on my hands, I bet a thousand gil Firion ends up giving her his rose."

"Hey, that's my gil!" Bartz protested, playfully elbowing Zidane in his already bruised ribs and taking a swipe at his tail.

"Ouch! Watch the tender spots!"

"You guys shouldn't tease Firion so much," Laguna scolded, laughing despite his words. "And it isn't nice to make fun of him for being more traditional either."

"It sure took some getting used to though," Jecht pointed out. "Not just from him, but from the others like him too, even that Onion Knight kid. With their fancy armour and their fancy way of talking, it kind of makes your head spin a little bit."

"Yeah, you stare too long at their armour in the sun, it starts to blind you," Bartz agreed, shrugging his shoulders. "Good battle tactic, I guess..."

"Right, we'll just deprive Chaos and his flunkies of their sight first before we run our weapons through them," Zidane snorted, rolling his eyes.

"Not a bad idea actually," Laguna teased, placing his chin in his hands and gazing thoughtfully at the sky. "Do you think that Warrior of Light fellow would let me try on his armour?"

They all turned to look at the warrior in question, who was currently talking quietly with Kain, Cecil, and Tifa, and Squall said blandly, "I wouldn't ask him that if I were you."

"Come on, why not?"

"On second thought, _do_ ask him."

"Huh?"

"He's hoping the Warrior of Light will beat you to within an inch of your life if you go anywhere near his armour," the Onion Knight informed Laguna, joining the circle with Yuna and shaking his head at Squall.

Laguna feigned a look of hurt, and hand coming up to rest against his heart. "Hey now, no need to be mean."

"Whatever," Squall replied, losing interest and turning his attention back to his gunblade.

"You were talking about Light and Firion, weren't you?" Yuna asked, settling herself next to Jecht. "I could tell from the way you all kept looking over at them. I think it's kind of romantic really. They do seem to get along quite well."

"Uh, guys, we don't even know if there's actually anything going on between them," the Onion Knight interrupted, a look of superiority on his face. "Don't you think you're all jumping to conclusions here? Even Cecil didn't know what Firion wanted to discuss with Light. He merely said it seemed to be a matter of importance for Firion and he probably jumped to conclusions himself."

"What do you know about romance? You're just a kid," Zidane shot back, crossing his arms over his chest, his tail once again inadvertently smacking Bartz in the face. Vaan swore the thing sometimes had a mind of its own, though he had yet to test his theory on that. He wasn't really in the mood to suffer the same long-winded lecture Laguna had received when the older man had made the mistake of yanking on the Genome's aforementioned tail, and Zidane, claiming his poor abused tail was highly sensitive and should be treated gently, had never let Laguna hear the end of it.

"More than you, obviously," the Onion Knight calmly replied, his nose in the air. "And you're really just a kid, too."

"Am not."

"Very convincing," Squall snorted, his tone reeking of sarcasm.

"Now, now," Laguna said mildly, once again being forced to play mediator. "No need to argue."

"Hey, Laguna, I got a better idea. Why don't you ask Kain if you can try on _his_ armour," Zidane smirked. "I'd love to see how that turns out."

"Young people these days," Jecht snorted, dropping an arm over his knee. "You outta learn to respect your elders more."

Zidane raised his eyebrows, a teasing smile on his face. "Sorry, what was that old man?"

"Back to the topic of Light and the kid," Jecht interrupted, ignoring Zidane, "we've got four bets so far. Anyone else want to get on this while you still have a chance?"

To Vaan's surprise and everyone else's too, it seemed, the Onion Knight, of all people, spoke up. "As you all very well know, I wouldn't normally participate in such a primitive and barbaric game, but in order to teach you all a lesson, fifteen thousand gil says there's nothing going on between Light and Firion."

Vaan perked up immediately at this. Fifteen thousand gil could go a long way at the shop if you spent it wisely. Then again, the shop was known for its excessively high prices, but even so, it still wasn't as bad as the mobile moogle shops that seemed to appear randomly out of nowhere all over Cosmos' land and the land of discord, where no amount of gil was going to help you. The moogles only accepted KP, and Vaan was still recovering the loss of KP he'd suffered after purchasing a Cactuar summonstone, of all things. Didn't those moogles know how hard it was to get KP in the gateways? In his opinion, those shady moogles, with their shady, scheming, unethical ways needed a good talking to, a subject he'd have to remember to bring up with Cosmos later.

"What about you, Squall? You in on this?" Bartz asked.

"I think I'll pass."

"Laguna?"

Laguna gave the mimic warrior a smile and a shrug. "Na, poor Firion's been teased enough, I think. Someone's gotta stick up for him."

"What about you, Yuna?" Zidane asked, piling on the charm. "Care to join in on our little wager?"

"No thank you. I don't think Light would appreciate it if I did, though I _do_ think the idea of Light and Firion together is a splendid one. Firion is definitely the romantic type. I'm sure he can win her over with a little time and patience."

"Way to burst my ego," Zidane grumbled, pulling a face.

"Why don't you ask Tifa? You might have better luck with her. She's not the type to back down from a challenge."

Zidane blanched at Yuna's words, and turning he smiled hopefully at Bartz, pulling out all the stops to charm his fellow treasure hunter into doing him a favour. "You should ask Tifa, Bartz. I...uh...better not."

Bartz gave the Genome a look, his lips twitching into a small smile. "After the way you just took my gil? I don't think so. Ask her yourself."

"Dammit!"

Bartz laughed, giving his friend a very unsympathetic push. "Go on."

"But-"

"Hurry up about it," Jecht complained, waving Zidane away. "Hand over your gil first, though. I'll be hanging onto our bets until Firion makes his move."

"But-"

"Forget it, kid, I'm not letting you or Bartz anywhere near our gil until this thing is over."

"Hey, I take offence to that!" Bartz interrupted, crossing his arms over his chest in a mock pout.

_Zidane's going to get himself slaughtered if he goes anywhere near Tifa after what happened earlier in the afternoon._

And as amusing as it would be to watch Tifa beat the living daylights out of Zidane, Vaan decided to take pity on the poor Genome, whom he was actually quite fond of, despite his fellow warrior's fantastic thievery skills, which rivaled Vaan's own. He liked a healthy dose of competition, and Zidane was always happy to oblige. "I'll talk to Tifa. The more people we have in on this the better chance the winner has of making a lot of gil. If Zidane asks her, she'll probably just say no right away."

Zidane, looking immensely relieved, launched himself at Vaan, who was so startled he nearly fell backwards onto the grass in surprise. "I'm saved! Vaan, you're my hero."

"Yeah, yeah," Vaan replied, disentangling his limbs from both Zidane himself and the Genome's wayward tail. "You owe me big time for this."

"Deal! How can I ever repay you?"

"If you win, I get all your gil."

"W-what?"

Vaan quickly made his escape before Zidane could chase after him, and laughing he raced over to the group of warriors talking quietly amongst themselves.

"Vaan, I must say, it's a surprise to have you come and join us," Cecil greeted him, a warm smile overtaking the paladin's handsome features.

"Indeed, you seemed to be enjoying yourself with that rambunctious lot over there," Kain said dryly, his tone laced with amusement.

"Well..."

Vaan wasn't quite sure how to go about asking Tifa, since he was pretty certain Cecil and the others in his group would most likely not approve of their little wager, but before he could work out a discrete way to get Tifa's attention, the Warrior of Light interrupted his scattered thoughts, making him look up in surprise. "Are you troubled, Vaan? You seem lost in thought. Perhaps there is something on your mind that you wish to speak of?"

"No, that's not it..."

_Seriously, how do you hold a conversation with a guy who uses the word 'light' in every other sentence?_

"A sparring match perhaps then?" Kain inquired, twirling his long spear for effect. "I would not pass up an opportunity to further hone my skills."

"Er...no. Actually, just wanted a word with Tifa."

Cecil arched an eyebrow at this, and Vaan playfully punched the paladin in the ribs, a mock glare on his face. "Don't start with me. I don't want to end up like Firion."

"Indeed, he has his work cut out for him dealing with those troublemakers," Kain commented, jerking his head back to where Zidane and Bartz were carrying on a spirited conversation with their fellow warriors.

"Well, in that case, we shall take our leave," Cecil replied, nodding his head politely at Tifa before turning to the dragoon standing next to him, his hand coming up to rest on Kain's shoulder. "Come, Kain, I shall act as your sparring partner until it is time for us to relieve Light and Firion of their watch duty."

"Challenge accepted, though I give you fair warning. I will not go easy on you, Cecil."

"And you shall receive the same courtesy in return."

Vaan watched the two warriors wander off, searching for a suitable spot with plenty of room to spar, a smile on his face.

"I shall take my leave as well," the Warrior of Light spoke up, placing a hand against his heart and bowing slightly at the waist in a show of respect for Tifa. "May the light favour you both."

And with that, their fearless leader took off to find a suitable spot in the grass to think, most likely musing over the war between harmony and discord, or something along those lines, though Vaan secretly suspected the Warrior of Light actually spent more time suppressing the jealously he felt towards Cecil for being more sparkly than he was compared to the amount of time he spent despairing over the war.

"Wow, such a gentleman," Tifa commented, her hands curling behind her back and a smile overtaking her pretty face. She nodded in approval, clearly impressed by the Warrior of Light's grace and his exceptional manners. "I gotta say, it's a nice change around here, especially compared to _some_ of the warriors I've met."

Vaan didn't miss the dark look she sent in Zidane's direction, and quickly stepping into her line of sight to block Zidane from view, he said cheerfully, "So, Tifa, we've got a bit of a wager going on with Light and Firion. Care to join in?"

"Huh?" Tifa looked to the two warriors in question, who were still talking quietly to one another, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Well...sure, why not? Sounds like it could be fun. I take it this was either Bartz's or Zidane's idea?"

"Bartz is the one who started it, but we got a few other wagers, too. Even Onion joined in, if you can believe it."

"Really? Now that's a surprise."

"Yeah, though not without telling us all off first. He says he's doing it to teach us a lesson, but I don't know about that. Personally, I think he's enjoying it just as much as the rest of us."

Tifa laughed, and placing an arm around his shoulders, she said, "Okay, how about this? Two thousand gil says Light asks Firion out on a date first instead of the other way around."

Vaan gave his fellow warrior a surprised look, caught completely off guard by her unorthodox proposal, especially considering the kind of world Firion seemed to come from. "Really?"

"Sure. Light's no pushover. She's definitely the type of girl who wouldn't hesitate to make the first move, and considering how shy and polite Firion is around her, Light's bound to let her impatience get the best of her. Firion will give it a good shot, but he gets embarrassed pretty easily, and because of that I doubt he'll work up the courage to ask her before she decides enough is enough. It's kind of cute actually, now that I think about it."

"I guess that makes sense. You sure then?"

"Definitely. Trust me, Vaan, a woman knows these things."

Vaan decided it was best not to argue. Knowing Tifa, he'd have to listen to a big rant about how clueless men can be, and frankly he had better things to do than endure a long lecture from the female warrior, like winning himself a ton of gil.

"Sounds good then," he said, holding out his hand for her gil.

She was about to give it to him, when she suddenly paused, a suspicious look on her face. "Bartz and Zidane aren't holding onto our wagers, are they?"

"No way. You think I'd trust either one of them with my gil? Jecht's holding onto all our bets."

"I don't know if I trust you to give him mine either," Tifa teased, dropping her gil into his hands.

"Hey, I only practice my thieving skills on people who deserve it. Mostly."

"Do me a favour then and frisk Zidane when he's not looking. Maybe not having a single gil to his name will finally teach him lesson, since nothing else seems to work."

Vaan laughed at this, and retuning Tifa's affectionate hug, he ran back to join the others, who were all staring at him in admiration, clearly impressed by his obvious success.

Everyone except Zidane that is, and Squall, who merely looked bored.

"How...how did you do that?" Zidane sputtered, shaking his head in disbelief.

The Genome was still sprawled in Vaan's seat, and cheerfully shoving his companion over to make room for himself, Vaan triumphantly handed over Tifa's gil, along with his own, to Jecht. "Mission accomplished. She's betting Light will ask Firion out on a date first before he can work up the nerve to ask her."

Jecht whistled, a smirk on his face. "Nice. That lass has got some spunk, and she may even be right about Light. Firion better find himself a backbone before the girl catches him first, especially since my gil is on the line here."

"But...but..." Zidane was still sputtering in outrage. "How, Vaan? You're clueless about romance! How did you..."

"He's smarter than you are, obviously," the Onion Knight replied primly, earning himself a hearty glare in response.

"You really should learn to be a bit more respectful towards our lady companions," Laguna sighed, shaking his finger at Zidane.

"Or at least refrain from commenting on their...er...female appendages," the Onion Knight added, blushing even as he said it, which earned him a faint smile from Yuna.

"I can't believe this!" Zidane moaned, throwing his hands up in dramatic defeat. "Losing out to Firion _and_ to Vaan? This is_..._I must be losing my touch or something..."

Bartz reached out to give his thieving friend a sympathetic pat on the shoulder, but Zidane simply refused to be consoled, his pride and ego having both suffered a severe beating.

Vaan, having taken no offence to Zidane's comment about his lack of knowledge when it came to romance, since romance was the last thing on his mind at the moment, merely shrugged his shoulders and proceeded to gaze up at the sky, wondering to what kind of use he could put all that gil to if he won. Maybe perhaps he could put it towards a deposit on an airship of his own? He would still need a lot more, though, if he wanted a really good airship.

_I wonder what other bets Bartz might be able to come up with._

Needless to say, the Onion Knight won by a landslide and he never let the others forget it, though ironically enough, if Lightning hadn't sacrificed herself in the twelfth cycle, Zidane most likely would have won and the gil would have gone to Vaan, and upon asking the Warrior of Light if he could try on his armour, Laguna merely received a startled look in reply and a polite refusal for such an odd favour. Kain, though, was not quite as gentlemanly about the request for the use of _his_ armour, and Laguna's still nursing his bruises from the dragoon's trusty spear. At this point, it was Vaan who cheerfully suggested that perhaps next time Laguna should try Cecil or Firion, who were both much more warm and inviting, and quite frankly, a lot less intimidating than their courageous leader or the moody dragoon.

The End.


End file.
